Centre Plans Research Integrity Unit In Oyo Varsity

The Centre for Bioethics and Research, Nigeria, has said plans are afoot to establish a Research Integrity Unit inside Ajayi Crowther University, Oyo.

The institution’s public relations officer, Mr Olufemi Atoyebi, said the agreement on the plan was announced by the programme coordinator of the centre, Adesola Adeyemo, when a team from the research centre visited the vice-chancellor, Professor Timothy Adebayo and his deputy, Professor Muyiwa Popoola, after a workshop held on July 9, 2024, at Welcome Centre inside the school.

Adeyemo said 18 other institutions in Nigeria were partnering with the centre, adding that other benefits included access to research grants offered by the United States, creation of research opportunities with global visibility and, by extension, further exposure and acceptability of Ajayi Crowther University globally.

Adeyemo said, “Part of the programme covers training up to a Masters in Bioethics. It focuses on responsible conduct of research. The focus is that at the end of the training, the trainees who have gone through the programme will have become research integrity officers.

“One of the things we intend to do is to establish a research integrity unit here at Ajayi Crowther University. We will make available the necessary support for the office to take off. Across the nation, we will have national research integrity offices that will be similar to what we have in the US.

“With this training that we are providing, it is actually in line with the National Institute of Health in Nigeria. For any researcher, particularly bio-medical researchers who are conducting research that involves humans, they are expected to go through a minimum of eight hours of physical contact training on responsible conduct of research. That is what we are providing right now.

“Those who want to access any grant as long as it has to do with the US government fund will be expected to provide evidence of this training.”